Neo-realism in painting was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life. Their intentions were proclaimed in Ginner’s manifesto in New Age (1 January 1914), which was also used as the preface to Gilman and Ginner’s two-man exhibition of that year. It attacked the academic and warned against the ‘decorative’ aspect of imitators of Post-Impressionism. The best examples of neorealist work is that produced by these two artists; Howard Kanovitz and also Robert Bevan. For Robert Bevan he joined Cumberland Market Group in 1914.[1]

Neorealism is characterized by a general atmosphere of authenticity. André Bazin, a French film theorist and critic, argued that neorealism portrays: truth, naturalness, authenticity, and is a cinema of duration. The necessary characteristics of neo-realism in film include:[6]

a definite social context;

a sense of historical actuality and immediacy;

political commitment to progressive social change;

authentic on-location shooting as opposed to the artificial studio;

a rejection of classical Hollywood acting styles; extensive use of non-professional actors as much as possible;